Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Written by Musgo Del Jefe
MUSGO's TOP 100 FEATURE OF THE WEEK:
No. 76 – Dial M For Murder (AMC) (SAT)
The first Hitchcock film to make the Top 100 might seem like an odd choice. It's no secret that I'm a huge Hitch fan and that this won't be the last film to make the list. But I think this play adaptation doesn't get enough credit. I first saw this film during its reissue in 1982. Ray Milland and Grace Kelly are a better fit for this plot than even Cary Grant would've been. The deceptively simple cuckold husband murder plot has many subtle layers. Hitchcock didn't usually dabble so freely in film noir as he does here. In many ways, it's a warm up for his next film, Rear Window but there are plenty of delicious moments here too. Another testament to the film is how many times the same plot has been reworked (almost yearly it seems) in movies and TV.
Ratings around this movie:
70 – Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
73 – Glengarry Glen Ross
78 – The Great Dictator
80 – Goodfellas
89 – Diabolique
RANDOM RUMINATIONS: NEW SHOWS
Showtime's making some nice in-roads on HBO as far as series go. So why am I only watching Californication when Dexter looks brilliant? And Weeds looks like it should be rocking my TiVo. Getting closer to watching 30 Rock since I bothered to watch about five minutes of that Seinfeld episode. Wanna watch the latest Dana Carvey show, Down In Front? It's a movie clip show and it's only showing on "Playing Now" on Netflix. And for my Mac brothers and sisters, it will work in Safari, just fight through the "your operating system is not compatible" warning and it works.
SUNDAY:
King Of The Hill (FOX) Hank is trying to stay cool in October at the water park.
The Simpsons (FOX) Steve Buscemi and Ted Nugent back together again for the first time.
MONDAY:
Heroes (NBC) Why can't I get excited about this new season? There are only a few storylines I care for and none of them seem to get enough screen time to satisfy me. No more Micah, please. Please. Is that too much to ask?
Prison Break (FOX) And I really feared that I'd have dropped this Third Season by now. But I'm sucked right in as much as Season One now. It’s all a leap – just like Jack Bauer in 24 – but the story is working. Can't keep my eyes off this cast.
TUESDAY:
Wordplay (PBS) Crossword doc. Gotta mention when good films like this come around. Keep one handy for afterwards.
Cavemen (ABC) This is still on? That's random. The longer this lasts, the closer I'll come to accidentally watching an episode. I'll let Tivo decide if I would like it.
WEDNESDAY:
Storm Chasers (DISC) New season! Four-part series starts tonight. He's got this half tank/half truck that he drives through tornadoes. You missed the previous incarnations last season. The best are the personal testimonies from storm chasers talking about their encounters with tornadoes like it's a religious conversion.
Pushing Daisies (ABC) Like Cavemen, the longer this hangs around, the closer I am to watching an episode. Best promo ads on TV – it looks so dang bright.
THURSDAY:
MLE Chowdown: Wedges & Wings (SPIKE) That's Major League Eating to you and me. Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut are household names, go figure.
Viva Laughlin (CBS) I'm concerned. I loved Viva Blackpool on BBC. But I don't see any Hugh Jackman produced musical murder mystery doing well on American TV and not on Thursdays. But there is the whole Madchen Amick thing to fall back on!
The View (NBC) In a big "what the heck" casting: Juliette Binoche and Jerry Springer are on the same couch?
FRIDAY:
The Next Great American Band (FOX) This couldn't possibly work for bands like it does for singers and dancers, right? I'm not betting against it. But Fox obviously is by burying it on Friday's. Just don't take ratings away from Friday Night Lights and I'll be happy to at least sample the first couple episodes.
Friday Night Lights (NBC) For those looking for quality TV on a Friday night. The Panther football season is getting under way and it doesn't look so rosy.
SATURDAY:
Damages (FX) It's supposed to be a great series and it's running a marathon today for like 12 hours.
Saturday Night Live (NBC) Did I read that right? Chevy Chase? Does anyone casting this show have a clue that it's not 1984 anymore?
TV-ON-DVD TO OWN: (to be released October 16)
1. Mythbusters (Collection 2) My favorites in this collection: the Hindenburg disaster and Mentos/Diet Coke.
2. Macgyver (Complete Series) If you have the money, it's 141 episodes and that's less than $2 per show.
3. Ironside (Season 2) Why did I think this was called Ironsides for years? That must have been my Civil War fetish shining through.
4. Waking The Dead (Season 2). Funky and fun BBC series. And the best thing is that they keep their "seasons" to eight episodes.
5. Wanted: Dead Or Alive (Season 3) Steve McQueen rules! Plus, in addition to 26 episodes, you get 7 featurettes.
TV-ON-DVD NEWS:
October 30 brings 30 more episodes of the Boris Karloff-hosted Suspense: The Lost Episodes from the early 50s. The Pembrokes moved to Seattle and the Powells bought their house. So naturally, they allowed Charles to stick around and look after their three children. So started Charles In Charge: Season 2 with only Charles and Buddy remaining from the first season. Check out TV history on November 20.
